Shiki Nomura (Kaestal)
Shiki Nomura (士気 = 野村 Nomura Shiki) is a student attending his second year at U.A High, who desires to become a top-level hero. He is part of the Second Year Class A. His chosen hero name is Switch-Blade. Appearance Shiki has a slimmer build than most heroes, more dedicated to agility and speed than raw power. He originally had navy-blue hair which came down to his upper ear at the longest point, but later covered them. He has black eyes. After facing a villain named Baku, Shiki gained a large scar which runs from underneath his left eye to his ear. When in school Shiki wears the normal uniform, but when wearing more casual clothing he tends to go for blue t-shirts with a blue hoodie and black jeans. His super-hero attire is just an added jacket, protective versions of the clothes he normally wears, and black gloves. Personality Shiki tends to play his more extreme emotions close to the vest, only demonstrating them in specific circumstances or with people he is very close to. He also rarely talks about his private life, preferring to keep that away from his friends. Although he likes to keep his past and personal life tucked away, Shiki involves himself with his fellow heroes and tries to get along with them as much as possible. He has several close friends among the school as well. When in combat Shiki tries to remain stoic; he does this not only to be a source of calm, but also so he can use his Quirk more effectively. He can also be a brutal fighter when needed, breaking bones and using his dagger if absolutely necessary, causing many shallow wounds that add up. When creating a superhero outfit, Shiki decided to keep it simple compared to most other individuals in U.A High. Despite the risk his Quirk carries, Shiki remains determined to be a hero as he believes that risking one's life to save an innocent is what being a hero is all about, and having his power doesn't change that in the slightest. Biography Shiki's Quirk first manifested when he was two-years-old, switching his father's hat for another one he thought was better. During his early childhood, Shiki would use his power routinely. One day during his seventh year of life, Shiki Swapped the places of ten different objects, causing him to collapse and be rushed to the hospital. The doctors there said that his Swap caused his heart to skip beats, two objects making it skip once, and anything higher causing it to skip an amount equal to the number of objects he'd affected. It was at this moment that Shiki, at seven years old, knew what being a hero meant. It was about risking your life for others and took this information in stride. He was given a watch to monitor his heartbeat and told to only use his Quirk if absolutely necessary, otherwise, he could develop a heart condition or have a heart attack and die. Secretly, Shiki continued to test the limits of his power and trained himself to be capable of fighting stronger opponents, strengthening his heart as well to try and counteract his Quirk's negative effects. Shiki's first act of heroism was when he turned 13, he saw a hostage situation and switched the pistol being held by the criminal with a rock, then switched the criminal with one of the officers standing outside the building. His heart skipped two beats, as he did these two things consecutively, not concurrently. When he turned 14, Shiki began studying to enroll at U.A High, the most prestigious hero academy in the world. During the Entrance Exam, Shiki managed to destroy enough robots to reach 4th place, and when the 0 Point Avoidance Robot appeared he shouted for the movement oriented heroes to run and be ready to switch places with the slower heroes. He swapped 20 people, including himself, almost causing a heart attack but allowing them to avoid the entity for a time and came up with a plan to destroy it while recovering. For his quick reaction and planning, Shiki was awarded heroism points, but the incredible risk he took caused some to be subtracted. Despite that, he still ranked first for the Entrance Exam. During the initial tests held by Arizawa, Shiki swapped the baseball with a bird he could see in the distance and swapped them back shortly thereafter, breaking the school record until Ochako Uraraka shattered his with her gravity powers years later. Quirk & Abilities Quirk "Swap" - Shiki's Quirk is the ability to switch the spatial locations of objects that are an even-numbered sum. Many people have mistaken his power for an illusion-based quirk that affects his target, causing them to mistake his position for theirs. Abilities * Athletic Figure - Shiki has an overall athletic build, more reliant on his speed and agility than his raw strength. He also has good reflexes, able to avoid and intercept attacks from opponents with low-level enhanced speed as long as they don't start too close to him. During the Entrance Exam, he was able to gain 10 points from destroying ten easy-level robots before the 0 Point Obstacle arrived. Shiki is the fastest person in his age group, barring someone with a speed-augmenting Quirk. * Stubbornness - When presented with a goal he vehemently wishes to achieve, Shiki refuses to let anything slow him down. His strong will manifested most powerfully in his ability to persist and remain both conscious and active for ten seconds while experiencing a heart attack. He also kept getting up despite a thorough beat-down and managed to defeat Kanaka in a tournament setting. * Hand-to-Hand Proficiency - Since his Quirk offers little in the area of physical combat, Shiki has been training to fight against what tends to be faster and stronger opponents. His fighting style is more about using speed and agility to use an opponent's strength against them. Shiki found a mentor to teach him martial arts when he was 14-years-old. * Short-Blade Proficiency - Shiki developed skill with a dagger in reverse-grip style to offer another area of combat to use against his foes. He has great skill in causing several light wounds which add up, due to his knowledge of general anatomy. Additionally, he has been getting lessons from an expert in short-blade combat since his first year at U.A High. * Tag-Team/Multi-Foe Combat Focus- Swap can be used to its greatest potential when Shiki is either fighting alongside an ally or against more than one opponent. A basic tactic he uses is making sure to stand between two enemies, then Swap with one when the other rushes to attack him. When fighting alongside an ally, he takes their Quirk into consideration and tries to Swap with them or their enemy to ensure the greatest possible use of their powers, and take advantage of their enemies' weaknesses. Intelligence Shiki has maintained a consistent second in all standardized tests in his class at U.A High and is a very quick thinker. He is incredibly skilled at using his Quirk to adapt to changing circumstances on the battlefield. Shiki is also very observant of his surroundings and people, which allows him to use his Quirk more effectively. He is taking a medical class to learn anatomy, which he hopes to use to avoid potentially fatally damaging his foes with his dagger. As of his 16th birthday, Shiki's stats were graded as below. Equipment and Weapons * Basic Heart Monitor Watch '''(formerly) - Given to him after a hospital visit when he was seven, this watch merely records his heart rate. * '''Advanced Heart Monitor Watch - In order to track if it's safe to use his Quirk, Shiki commissioned a sleek, high-tech watch which could give him a readout for when it was relatively safe to Swap. If green, it is "safe" for him to swap things. It turns yellow when he uses his power, and red when the risk becomes extremely dangerous. It beeps once when okay to swap, twice after he has swapped once as a warning, and multiple times with a vocal warning to alert allies to a potential collapse when he is in danger. * Advanced Pacemaker - Shortly into his first year at U.A High, Shiki had to get a pacemaker installed to try and lessen his Quirk's effect on his heart. *'Detanium Dagger' - As a combative weapon, Shiki has a single dagger which he holds in his right hand, reverse-gripped. It is made out of a sturdy material and is sharp enough to pierce very tough opponents. It is also a switch-blade, at his request. He mostly uses this weapon as an intimidation tactic against most foes, but against stronger super-villains, he will use it to his fullest ability. It was made by his father when he realized that in terms of raw power Shiki would fall behind most, if not all, of his potential peers. *'Reinforced Clothing' - Shiki's "Hero Uniform" is actually his normal clothing, but reinforced with added protection. It is fire-resistant, shock-absorbent, and padded to protect from piercing impacts. Despite the upgrades, it is around the same weight and Shiki can endure far more damage while wearing this upgraded attire. His mother, Takeba, crafted it both as a present and in an attempt to assuage her concerns over his safety. Each piece has an "H" on it so Shiki can easily identify it with his non-upgraded clothes. Conflicts *'Class 1-A Entrance Exam' *'U.A. Sports Festival Second Round Fights' **'Shiki VS Tanaka' **'Shiki VS Bakuya' **'Shiki VS Entaka' **'Shiki VS Mitsuru' *'Shiki Nomura VS Baku' Relationships Family *'Parents' - Shiki's mother and father try to support their son's goal of becoming a hero but are worried about the risk he takes every time he uses his Quirk. They admitted to Shiki when he decided to apply for U.A High that they'd prefer if he chose another career, but try their best to be a source of reassurance and his father forged the Detanium dagger he uses as a gift. While he values their concern, Shiki admitted he would probably have sought out becoming a hero without their approval as it is his one dream. **'Minaka Nomura' - Shiki's father, Minaka is a skilled weaponsmith. Unlike his son, Minaka is Quirkless. While he tries to support his son's dreams, Minaka is worried about his safety due to his Quirk not being combat-focused. Partly because of this, he spent months coming up with a practical, powerful dagger for him to use and gifted Shiki with it once he was accepted to U.A High. **'Takeba Nomura' - Shiki's mother, Takeba is a famous Heroic Attire Weaver. Like her husband and unlike Shiki, Takeba is Quirkless. To ease her worries of Shiki's safety, Takeba made his hero outfit based on his designs, while making enhancements to its protective capabilities. She gifted the outfit to him once he was accepted to U.A High, and like Minaka has tried her best to support him ever since. Teachers Classmates * Entaka - * Bakuya '- * 'Tanaka '- * 'Mitsuru - Heroes * Tomiko - * Kobu - * Kanaka - Villains * Baku - The first villain Shiki ever faced, Shiki is terrified of Baku and the mere thought of the man haunts his dreams. Baku is the one that gave Shiki his scar, and two years after their encounter he has difficulty sleeping at night because of the maniac. Trivia Shiki's appearance is based on Rin Okumura from Ao no Exorcist. His parents are Quirkless, and both are employed as Hero Weapon/Attire creator and suppliers. Even though medical technology has advanced substantially, Shiki refused to get the scar on his face removed.Category:Characters Category:Quirk Users Category:Weapon Users Category:Males Category:U.A. Students Category:Students Category:Heroes in Training Category:Kaestal